Indian batting stars Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly have opted out of the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa in September, selectors announced here.

"I think they wanted to give a chance to youngsters. I got a call from (captain) Rahul who said they were opting out of the tournament," chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar said after India named a 30-man preliminary squad.

The trio are currently in England for the Test and one-day series. Each has scored more than 10,000 runs in one-day internationals.

The final 15-man squad will be announced next month.

Batsman Virender Sehwag and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh were named after being ignored for the England tour.

The selectors also announced a 16-man India 'A' squad for the tours of Zimbabwe and Kenya starting later this month.